Susan Loken

This 44-year-old superstar will run the women's trials and prove she's only getting better with age.

Susan Loken, 44, who has won the MORE Marathon (for women over 40) in New York City three times and also was the 2005 Vermont City Marathon champion, will compete in the U.S. Women's Olympic Marathon Trials in Boston on April 20. Before that, she'll do the Valley of the Sun Half-Marathon in Phoenix on March 9 and the MORE Half-Marathon (held in conjunction with the Marathon) in Central Park in New York on April 6. Loken set her personal best of 2:41:31 at P.F. Chang's Rock 'n' Roll Arizona Marathon in 2006; she was seventh in Arizona this January in 2:44:24. In the first of her three MORE Marathon victories in 2005, Loken covered 26.2 miles in 2:45:35, the fastest women's time ever for a marathon entirely within Central Park. Later in 2005, she won the U.S. Masters Marathon crown and was third overall at Twin Cities in 2:43:10. She was 32nd in the 2004 U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials in 2:44:23. Loken lives in Phoenix and has three sons. We originally called Loken for just a couple of questions about women runners over 40, but the chat, thankfully, went on longer.

One of the Trials qualifiers, Meghan Arbogast, has tied her personal marathon best at age 45, and Linda Somers-Smith has run 2:41 at age 46. Colleen De Reuck is coming back well at 43, and Joan Benoit Samuelson will be running the Trials at age 50. And then there are your own achievements, and dedication to a marathon that's specifically for women over 40. Are you at all surprised by the success of women over 40 in this sport?Susan Loken: As I get older, I'm not so surprised, because now I'm 44 and living it, realizing that I still don't think that I've reached my potential. When I was 40 and ran the Trials in 2004, I was like "there is no way I can still make it when I'm 44." When I was 40, I was thinking "oh my gosh, 44 is so old." But now that I'm 44, I don't feel any different than when I was 40 and I still feel that there's a lot left in me. So I'm not surprised. I think it's awesome. Success breeds success. Once you see the Linda Somers-Smiths, the Joan Benoit Samuelsons - and Colleen De Reuck, I'm a huge fan of hers. I admire how amazing she can run. She's still competing. She had a baby, and she's still running strong. I think it inspires all of us that we can do it. It makes us motivated to try, anyway.

It's not inconceivable that Colleen De Reuck could make the Olympic team.SL: Absolutely. Of course, I would love that. Yeah, I think it could happen. She's running well again. She ran the half-marathon (the USA Championships in Houston on January 13) and did really well.

What did you think of Linda Somers-Smith's 2:41 at age 46?SL: I didn't know her personally, too well, until I got to know her at P.F. Chang's (the Rock 'n' Roll Arizona Marathon in January). I talked to her about her training, and I could tell she had the mental strength and toughness. So no, I guess I wasn't too surprised. And it really inspired me. I wish I would have been up there with her, because I didn't run quite as strong as I thought I could have.

You say you think you haven't reached your peak yet. But is running getting harder from a recovery point of view?SL: The only thing I've really noticed is I have to make sure I get more sleep. Before, even in my early 40s, being a single mom and working and training, I could fudge it easily. I could survive on six or seven hours of sleep, piece of cake. Now? Oh, no. It's something that I really have to put into my daily plan, to make sure I get plenty of sleep. I've just been concentrating on that this year, in the last training cycle, and I think I'm starting to reap the rewards now.

There's one former Olympic marathoner who was very nice and gracious and cooperative, but she made it clear you weren't supposed to call her after 8:30 at night. We asked why and she said "because I'm asleep."SL: In my life, the way I've been structuring it and squeezing in training, something has to give, and it used to be my sleep. It does get tough with teenagers, too. They're coming in late on a Friday night and Mom has a long run in the morning. I just find little tricks. I just set my alarm for five minutes after he (her teenage son) is supposed to be home. I wake up, make sure he's home, everybody's safe, and then I can go back to bad - instead of just waiting until he gets home (to go to sleep).

We hope he's a pretty good kid about meeting his curfew.SL: He is very good. He knows, too. They (her two younger sons) don't do it because they're going to get trouble. They do it because they know Mom has a long run in the morning and they better not keep her up. I can honestly say I would not be able to participate and compete at this level without my kids. They are 100 percent supportive. It's really not a solo journey. It is definitely a team effort, for my kids, knowing how we structure everything - how we sleep, how we eat. The older one (of the two at home) really helps in the morning. If I have a long run on Sunday, he'll get up and get the little one breakfast.

How many children do you have?SL: I have three sons, two at home. One is almost 22 and he only lives about a mile away and he is really helpful also. The ones at home are Taylor, who's almost 16, and Chris is ten. Taylor just got his learner's permit and once he starts driving, my life is going to get easier. He plays baseball and my youngest one plays football and lacrosse. So our lives really revolve around each other. Sometimes, if I have a run to get in, I'll take him to lacrosse practice and kind of do my run around his practice - circle around a few times, watch him, go back out a few miles, circle around a couple of times. It all works.

How many hours per week is your job?SL: I'm working now for Chances for Children, it's a not-for-profit. I'm coaching adult runners in a fundraising program. We're raising funds to implement programs for kids in the area. It's really nice. This kid has given me more flexibility for my runners and my kids. It's definitely full-time.

Do you have any races planned before going to the Marathon Trials in Boston?SL: I do. There's the Valley of the Sun Half-Marathon in Phoenix. And then I'll be going to MORE again (in New York). Of course, I can't do the marathon there this year because the Trials are coming up. I'll do the half-marathon as a final tune-up two weeks before the Olympic Trials. I wouldn't miss that for anything.

Well, you ARE the MORE Marathon as far as we're concerned.SL (Laughs). Between you and me, I really struggled as to whether I was going to the Olympic Trials or the MORE Marathon, because my heart is really with what the MORE Marathon stands for. But I figure again, at 44, I can't even imagine doing the Olympic Trials when I'm 48. I figure this is my last chance. But who knows? Maybe I'll be out there when I'm 48. I would like to go beat my course record at the MORE Marathon at 45 the following year (2009), just to prove you can get faster and fitter and continue to improve as you're aging.